Baloney Sandwich

Since when did loving someone mean that you have to agree with them on everything? Recently I have been seeing this image floating around on Facebook and other places.

The implication is that if I say that homosexuality or some other form of behaviour condemned by God is wrong that I am not loving.

Well that is a big old baloney sandwich if ever I have seen one. Who would ever say it is unloving to stop my kids from trying to live on cheese puffs and sodas? What if I actually stood up to a friend and told them that their drinking is going to kill them when they are putting away a fifth of vodka every might when they get off of work. Or how about teaching my son to drive his car in accordance with the traffic laws? I doubt any reasonable person would for a moment think that I was being unloving to any of them.

So why would saying this is what God says be any different? If I am going to claim to live the christian life then does that not include saying what God says is wrong is wrong? Sure these things are easy. It is easy enough to speak out about homosexuality, and to be honest I think Christians, myself included, have made the terrible mistake of targeting in on this one sin while turning a blind eye towards some others.

Not just missing the forest for the trees

When was the last time you heard any one claiming to be a christian speaking out against gluttony? Or when did you last hear a sermon talking about how sloth was destroying the fabric of society. If we are going to live a life that by example points towards God, a life guided by the Christian ethic, then we must not kid ourselves into thinking that only those things that are easy to find fault with and that perhaps you and I have no temptation towards are the ones we should rail against. It’s so easy to point at something that isn’t and never will be a problem personally, but what about getting the speck out of my own eye while holding others accountable.

Love people, but love them enough to tell them the truth.

Instead we need to adhere to the standard set out by our Master, Jesus. Be honest about what God has said, yes homosexuality is wrong, see romans chapter 1, but so is drunkenness, lust, gluttony, even that “little white lie.” As christian men we don’t get to decide what sins count and what ones don’t. Which parts of the Bible we are going to follow and which we can ignore because it is inconvenient.

Love people enough to tell them the truth. Even when it’s hard, even when they don’t want to hear it, even if it means making a few enemies.